Fitness articles by Deepak MR

Improve your health and be fit through Cardio  

Cardio or cardio-vascular exercise is physical activity that increases heart rate. It is also referred to as aerobic exercise. The term ‘aerobic’ mean ‘with oxygen’. It refers to controlling oxygen movement to the muscles, so they burn fuel. It is physical activity that is moderate or high in intensity that gets the heart pumping. Cardio is recommended as an exercise to be healthy and fit.  

Importance of cardio  

Cardiovascular conditioning is beneficial for health. It helps improve the health of the hearts and lungs. It also aids weight loss. There are multiple health benefits from doing cardio exercises. This is why fitness experts and doctors recommend doing cardio exercises. This is a perception that cardio only means hard exercise in the gym. This is not correct. Even a brisk walk or a swim is also cardio as it gets the heart pumping.  

The importance of cardio has been acknowledged by the American Heart Association (AHA). They recommend cardio exercise to be done for at least 30 minutes a day for 5 days a week. You don’t need to do the 30 minute exercise at all one time but can break it down into three 10-minute sessions. It is advised to do cardio exercise on all days of the week. The American College of Sports Medicine recommends that at least 3 sessions a week should have moderate to intense sessions.  

Health benefits of cardio  

The many health benefits of cardio are:  

• It helps improve heart health by strengthening the heart.

• Cardio can help reduce the risk of heart attack, high blood pressure, and diabetes.

• It helps improve lung capacity and strengthens the lung.

• It is one of the best ways to burn calories and lose weight.

• Cardio can help increase bone density, which leads to strengthened bones.

• It helps in reducing stress and creates a feel-good experience.

• Cardio offers mental health benefits. It can improve brain functioning and improve emotional stability.  

Simple cardio exercises  

As mentioned earlier, cardio does not mean exercising in the gym. There are a number of simple cardio exercises that can help get the heart pumping. Cardio exercises can be low-impact or high-impact. Those who have joint pain and other problems can opt for low-impact cardio exercises. These include:  

• Walking by taking a brisk walk.

• Jogging.

• Swimming.

• Cycling.

• Climbing the staircase.

• Playing a game of tennis/badminton, football, Frisbee or just running around with kids in the park.  

• Cardio exercises that are high-impact include:  

• Skipping or jumping using a rope.

• Running.

• Performing aerobics routines.

• Exercise routines like burpees, squat jumps, mountain climbers.

Cardio using equipment  

Those who want to increase their fitness levels or want to lose more weight can opt for cardio using equipment. Gyms have a range of equipment that help you carry out cardio effectively.            

• Treadmills are great for exercising all your muscles while getting your heart rate up.

• The rowing machine can help you burn a lot of calories.

• The elliptical trainer is a low-impact equipment for cardio exercises.

• A stair climber is one of the best cardio equipments in a gym.  

Maintaining heart rate  

Cardio increases your heart rate. It is important to ensure that the heart rate remains in the target range. This can help you exercise correctly and safely. Your maximum heart rate can be calculated as 220 minus your age. When you do cardio, your heart rate should be between 55% and 85% of your maximum heart rate. For example, if you are 25, your maximum heart rate should be between 107 and 166. If your heart rate is below that it means the exercise you are doing is not sufficient and you need to increase the intensity. If it is above 166, you would do well to reduce the intensity.   

Conclusion  

Cardio-exercise is one of the best forms of exercise and is recommended for people of all age. If you have any health conditions, especially cardiac problems consult your doctors before starting on cardio exercise. You don’t need to go to a gym to do cardio; you can even do it at home or a park.   If you aren’t doing exercise, it is time to get started. Cardio helps you improve your health and can even extend your life. Start exercising today and achieve your health goals. 

Achieving Weight Loss: How important is the diet

If you were trying to keep your weight under control, you would have tried out various types of exercises. While exercise is very helpful in burning calories, it is equally important to reduce the calories you consume.

It’s a simple equation, you will lose weight only if the calories you consume is lesser than the calories you burn. This is what makes diet important. The best exercise thus happens on your plate. It is what you eat that determines how much weight you lose.

Importance of Diet

Ensuring energy balance is the key to weight loss, which means we need to consume fewer calories than we burn. If you want to lose one pound of weight, you need to burn 3,500 calories. It is obvious that you cannot burn 3,500 calories only through exercise.

One hour of rigorous workout in a gym can help you lose around 600 calories. This is a level of exercise not everyone can hope to replicate. So, what then is the solution? You need to combine diet with exercise. Dieting helps you lose a lot of calories, which can contribute to your weight management effort in a big way.

The 80:20 ratio

There is a simple formula to help you in your weight control effort. It involves 80% diet and 20% exercise. What does this mean? Let us take the above example. If you need to lose 3,500 calories, then you need to lose 80% of it through diet. So, you will need to burn 750 calories and the balance calories need to be burnt through diet.

Let’s assume you want to lose one pound weight in a week. This mean, you need to lose 750 calories in a week. Three days of exercise where you lose 250 calories per day should be sufficient. You need to lose the balance through diet. This means you need to cut down around 600 calories per day from your daily consumption.

You must know that 80:20 is not a strict and scientific rule. It is a general guideline to follow. You need not follow the exact numbers and can approximate it. So, you can even target 1,000 calorie loss per week weight loss through exercise and 2,000 calorie reduction in your diet.

It is easier to achieve weight loss with more focus on diet. If you want to lose one pound a week only through exercise, then you need to run around 10 miles a day every day. This may not be feasible. This is the reason, reducing calorie consumption is as important as exercise.

The Perfect Diet

While reducing calories, you need to ensure your body gets all the nutrients it needs. Many people make the mistake of following a diet that starves the body of nutrients. This can make you end up becoming weak. Your food plate should be like this:

• Half of the plate should have fruits and vegetables.

• Quarter plate should have whole grains.

• Quarter plate should be proteins.

• Avoid potatoes, sugary drinks, processed foods, and use plant oil to ensure your calorie loss happens as planned.

Conclusion

Exercise is good for health, and can help you in your weight loss efforts. A balanced diet is more important when it comes to weight loss. You must cut down the calories you are consuming, and ensure you get a balanced diet. Eat well, eat healthy, and achieve your goals of weight loss.